Linux Clearly Explained [Paperback]

Bryan Pfaffenberger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1999 | Series: Clearly Explained

This book offers clear, concise, and comprehensive coverage of the Linux Operating System, the popular freeware PC release of the Unix Operating System. With an easy-to-understand and practical presentation, the author details the steps to loading and configuring the Linux OS on a PC and offers insight into running popular Windows applications programs and the new Linux release of the Word Perfect system. With an estimated user base of 7 million in 1998, Linux is expected to continue to grow and impact the PC operating system marketplace. Features: * Complete instructions for configuring the Linux system on your machine * Offers a CD-ROM version of RedHat Release 5.1, the most popular edition of Linux OS * Addresses Linux as an alternative to Windows for the PC * Covers running popular Windows applications within Linux * Discusses the new Linux release of Word Perfect

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Linux Clearly Explained acknowledges that graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are here to stay, and that a large percentage of folks moving from Windows to Linux will want to stick with GUIs wherever possible. Unlike many Linux books, which emphasize the command shell, this one focuses on Red Hat Linux 6 and hypes the Gnome windowing system that ships with that distribution. Bryan Pfaffenberger details the configuration and use of Gnome (as well as Enlightenment and the K Desktop Environment--KDE) in greater detail than any other Linux book out there.

Linux Clearly Explained deserves plaudits for its careful, easy-to-follow installation instructions. Pfaffenberger shows how to create Linux partitions with Disk Druid; then he walks along with you as the Red Hat installation routine does its thing. (Red Hat 6 and WordPerfect for Linux 8 appear on this book's companion CD-ROMs, by the way.) From there, it's almost all Gnome: Pfaffenberger tells how to set up accounts, manage files, and run applications under the GUI. He also explains how to establish a PPP connection with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) over a modem, and provides a bit of documentation on Netscape Communicator. There's also some information on the Bash shell, and it's quite good, but this book is clearly meant for desktop Linux users who will use Gnome when they can. --David Wall

About the Author

Bryan Pfaffenberger, author of more than 100 books on computing, is the author of AP Professional's best-selling Netscape Communicators series, as well as Discovering HTML 4 and XML for Web Authors in Six Easy Steps, also published by Morgan Kaufmann. A recognized national authority on the Internet, he is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia, and lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 554 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann Pub; Book & CD-ROM 1st edition (August 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0125531699
• ISBN-13: 978-0125531696
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,329,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For its scope, this book is a tremendous success, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Linux Clearly Explained (Paperback)

Note: I was one of the technical editors for this book. These are my true thoughts and are not a result of my involvement with the production of _Linux Clearly Explained_.

One of the problems with many Linux books I have seen is their generality. Most try to appeal to the largest possible audience by merely including generic information and using only universally known (and often archaic) commands and tools. This often confuses the reader and greatly decreases their learning and productivity.

LCE has taken a single setup, Red Hat 6.0 with the GNOME user interface, and thoroughly explained how to use it. A book including _everything_ related to Linux, from beginner to guru, would have to be thousands of pages long. LCE concentrates getting the fundamentals across clearly and coherently. It is written on a level that is neither way above an experienced computer user, nor so beneath them that no useful information is presented.

I believe the most important aspects of this book is its treatment of GNOME. Many formerly command-line tasks are explained using GNOME-related tools. Before reading the book, I was unaware of how robust GNOME had become and was inpressed by how much it could do.

Overall, I highly recommend _Linux Clearly Explained_ to anyone starting on their path to Linux enlightenment.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for many but not so great for some, August 25, 1999

By 

A Reader (CA, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Linux Clearly Explained (Paperback)

If there is such a thing as four stars with a big exception this book gets it. The first thing to understand with this book is that it has a VERY narrow scope and objective. Within that scope it succeeds rather well but is still not exceptional.

The objective is to get a new user introduced to Linux and up and running with it as a day-to-day workstation, NOT a server. As a result, the focus is on GNOME and productivity applications. Things like system administration and moderate to advanced "Unixisms" are given only minimal attention. This is bad if you are looking for this sort of thing and if so you should look at the many other books out there. But if you are new to Linux and want to get it installed and running for general PC use this book does a good job. This book includes and is centered around Redhat Linux 6.0 and Corel's WordPerfect 8.0. Users of other distributions will find little useful information.

In the intro the author states "LCE teaches the concepts as well as the procedures of Linux usage. After you've read this book, you'll posses the understanding that will enable you to make the most use of GNOME." While some attention is given to the command prompt the author focuses on doing as much as possible through the GNOME interface. This is an admirable goal, and a unique one, but I did not feel quite enough depth was given to LinuxConf or file management.

The author has a somewhat odd (or certainly unusual) writing style. The book is written at a much higher level than the typical "Linux in a minute" books, which is refreshing. But this also leads to oddities such as in-text citations that give it a textbook feel, which just seems misplaced in this case (the author has a Ph.D so this should probably be expected I guess). Also I am not sure if the book successfully walks the tight rope of needed depth vs lighter survey for introductory level concepts. Some users may find it lacks enough depth while others will find it just a bit over their head.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good starting point, September 15, 1999

By 

Ray Salemi (Framingham, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Linux Clearly Explained (Paperback)

This book has a very clear objective. It wants to get you from W95 to Linux on your PC and show you that you can get the same functionality you are used to on a PC in Linux.

It succeeds in that narrow scope. I am typing this from my newly running Linux system. However, this book is not enough to really get you running smoothly.

Linux is still not ready for the average user -- though the book would argue otherwise. There are enough gotchas to take you out of the narrow path of the book pretty quickly, and then you will need other resources. In my case, I need to learn how to get my sound card working and my Zip drive running, and the PPP dialer working. The paths suggested in the book didn't work.

Fortunately, the author points you to other resources on the web so you can continue your search.

The book comes with a copy of Red Hat 6.0. So it gives you everything you need to get started. However, I would also buy a reference type book as well.